


Arrangements

by LadyOfSnakes



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, Nobility, started before ep 68 so I'm ignoring it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-08-16 21:53:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8118850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyOfSnakes/pseuds/LadyOfSnakes
Summary: After the fall of the Conclave, the council of Whitestone has some pressing matters to address, including political and personal arrangements.





	1. Chapter 1

“And now we come to the matter of the Grand Congress of Tal’Dorei...” Keeper Yennin turned to the next page of his agenda. “In one month’s time envoys from the major cities of the realm will be meeting in Kymal...”

Percy stifled a yawn by keeping his jaw held firmly shut. He glanced at Vex’ahlia, sitting beside him, who was taking extensive notes on the meeting. It had never surprised him, how well she had taken to being a baroness. She was meticulous about so many things, and even before construction began on her new house, she had thrown herself into her new responsibilities to her adopted city.

The council meeting had begun promptly after breakfast, and he could now smell the wafting scent of goat stew floating up from the kitchens. He could hear the ticking of the clock on the mantle behind him, but propriety dictated he did not turn to look. Instead he looked down at his own notes from the meeting--mostly sketches for a more advanced battery for Diplomacy, he would have to review Vex’s notes with her later--and did his best to focus again.

“Whitestone’s envoys will of course be focused on reestablishing trade across Tal’Dorei.” Willa Russert, the woman elected to represent the merchants of Whitestone on the council, shuffled through her papers. “And with our recent agreement with Ank’Harel on the export of stone, we stand to turn Whitestone into the new economic capital of the land. Emon and Westruun will take years to recover, and unless Syngorn or Kraghammer move to a less isolationist stance, we stand to be the most influential city in Tal’Dorei.”

“Yes,” Cassandra said as she filed through the documents in front of her, before drawing out papers that were creased like letters. “On that note, I have received several missives from noble families throughout the land, including one from Syngorn. They are interested in political alliances by forming, ah, closer ties with the de Rolo family.”

Percy dropped his pen, which left a large ink splotch on his sketch before it rolled off the table. He ignored it, instead staring at his little sister. “You don’t mean...”

“Yes, Percival. It seems like we would have our pick of what remains of the Tal’Dorei nobility.” Cassandra pursed her lips, looking like a much younger version of their mother. “And I anticipate will we receive many more offers during the summit.”

Vex put her pen down, then gently laid her hand on Percy’s sleeve. When he looked at her, her her lips pulled into a small smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes. Then she looked to Cassandra and asked, “Did you really receive an offer from someone in Syngorn? The elves there aren’t known for mixing with humans.”

“That was before Vox Machina became dragonslayers.” Cassandra replied. “And before Whitestone aided you in your quest.”

Keeper Yennin frowned, “Cassandra, you technically are not even of age in Tal’Dorei. Not for another year.”

“So it’s me they’re after.” Percy said. This was not what he had been brought up for. Julius and Vesper were the political minds, and at least Whitney and Cassandra had been given the expectation that they would eventually run a household. He never imagined being married or wielding the influence of the city. All that had been expected of him was not to embarrass anyone. He looked down at Vex’s hand on his arm; he could feel the warmth of her skin through his sleeve. “I imagine that there’s an offer in there that is too important to Whitestone for us to decline?”

“Us? _Percival_.” Percy didn’t have to look over at Vex to know what look was on her face. With her voice like that, she may as well have just hunter’s marked him and had Fenthras leveled at his head. “The council doesn’t get to decide who you marry.”

He brought his other hand over to cover hers and gently held it. “Vex, I’ll do whatever is best for Whitestone.”

She squeezed his arm, then pulled her hand away.

Cassandra started passing the letters around the table, and though Percy picked one up, he just skimmed it. He couldn’t focus beyond a few details. A noble woman from Westruun, whose family of merchants has been instrumental in the rebuilding...all he could think of was the cold irony of it potentially being the noblewoman he’d scoffed at months ago, calling her “new money” as if that actually meant anything.

Holand, the nervous-looking man who had been elected by the various trades of the city, looked through two of them before he said, “Now, I’m not one for politicking, but it seems like a lot of these are really good for the city. And that means that it’d be bad to turn down any of them.”

“That is a concern. We don’t want anything to be read as a slight.” Cassandra worried a stray string at the hem of her sleeve. When she was focused like this, she really did look so much like Lady Johanna. At the same time, she looked far too young.

Keeper Yennin nodded, “Indeed. We do have some time before we need to reply to those missives, however, so we can decide what is most suitable. Of course, Lord Percival, we would want your agreement with whatever is decided.”

“You will have it. As I said...” Percy began, then tapered off. There really was no need for speeches about duty here.

Vex sat up a bit straighter in her seat and caught his eye. She smiled then, as if she had just found a new bit of leverage when bargaining with a shopkeeper. “What if...what if Lord Percival couldn’t accept any of these offers because he was already engaged?”

“What?” Percy asked. The rest of the council all looked to her as well, though Percy saw his sister’s eyes light up.

“Would, say, a baroness be a suitable match?” Vex looked over at him and winked. “Perhaps one who is also one of the heroes of Tal’Dorei? If he is agreeable to it, of course.That shouldn’t make anyone feel slighted, and it may be helpful with Syngorn as well, considering I was educated there. It would probably be a shock for Syldor, but he’d use it for better leverage within Syngorn, which could benefit us.”

To the side, Percy saw Holand lean over and ask Willa something (probably some variation of “Who’s Syldor?”) but he focused on his friend seated beside him. He rested his chin on his hand and let her continue. Back in the Feywild he’d joked that he’d made a terrible mistake in naming her a baroness, but that was before he’d seen her like this.

“Clearly, considering Vox Machina’s influence throughout the realm, I would be the most neutral choice. Was a member of the council in Emon, one of the liberators of Westruun, and my ties to Syngorn, while weak, could be built upon. Plus, we can say that Percival and I got engaged prior to receiving any of these letters and we were just keeping it quiet because we were mourning those lost during the war against the Conclave. No one was slighted because their offers just happened to come too late, and most of the nobles in the land are affiliated with those three cities anyway.” Vex ticked her arguments off on her fingers as she made them, then she winked at him again.

Oh.

_Oh._

Percy had always admired Vex’ahlia for her wit and charm. Her kindness, her mischievous side, her utter refusal to let someone take advantage of her and her friends. Her skills with her bow and her purse were unmatched. She enjoyed the results of his tinkering as much as he did, always thanking him with enthusiasm and an occasional kiss on the cheek. (If he touched his cheek absently as he thought of that, he did not realize.) And then there were her sharp eyes, and calloused hands, and the way she tucked feathers into her hair. There were so many reasons he admired her, cared for her, why he wanted to return those kisses.

But as Vex sat beside him and spoke to the council of Whitestone, Percy imagined her doing so for years. Together, they could to good for the city. They could smooth out each other’s rough edges. They could truly be partners.

He smiled.

“Also,” Cassandra added to Vex’ahlia’s list of arguments, rolling her eyes in a way that was not all that convincing, “Percival is clearly besotted with you.”

Percy coughed and abruptly sat up again, heat flooding his face. He saw Vex’s cheeks redden slightly as well, and the other members of the council laughed. He cleared his throat twice and thought for a moment, before he finally said, “You have made many agreeable points, Lady Vex’ahlia. There really is only one problem with this plan.”

Vex’s eyebrows perked up and she crossed her arms. “And what would that be, Lord Percival?”

“You have not actually asked me yet.” He held up his hand as she opened her mouth to speak again, “And if you ask me now, in front of my little sister, I will say no.”

She nodded and straightened the papers in front of her with a little more elaborate flourish than was necessary. “Of course, darling. I’ll make it very romantic. You will be properly courted.”

“Thank you, dear. I appreciate that greatly. Now, Keeper Yennin, what is next on our agenda?” Percy looked over to his sister, and did not try to hide his grin.


	2. Chapter 2

The council meeting adjourned at noon. Archibald approached Percy, but before he could say anything, there was a light hand on his arm.

“Percival, may we speak for a moment in private? I think we have something to discuss. Perhaps we’ll have lunch in the garden. How does that sound?” Vex didn’t wait for a response, just linked her arm with his and steered him out of the room. He caught Archie’s eye and shrugged slightly as he let himself be guided out. Vex asked one of the servants they passed to arrange for their meal to be served outside, then patted Percy’s arm and smiled up at him.

Their footsteps were muffled by the thick carpets as they walked through the halls of the castle. The ancient building still seemed more empty than it ever had in his childhood, but Percy had grown used to it now. Grog, Pike, and Scanlan were back at Greyskull Keep, aiding with the rebuilding of Emon. Keyleth and Vax were supposedly living with the Air Ashari in Zephyra now, but frequently teleported through the Sun Tree for a visit. There was still the bustle of servants and an ever-rotating list of dignitaries who wished to pay their respects to a few of the heroes of Tal’Dorei however. At the moment, there was no one he had to worry about snubbing, so he let himself relax and enjoy a few quiet moments with her.

The garden in the courtyard was a riot of color in the mid-summer. Keyleth had enriched the soil before she’d left for Zephra, so the plants that had once withered had returned. The druid’s influence had left its mark, and what had once been neat rows of flowers were now somewhat more chaotic. Percy gestured towards what he remembered as a pristinely-pruned white rosebush that now twisted its way around a stone statue of an angel. “My mother used to keep this garden immaculate. I don’t know if she’d approve of what Keyleth has done to it.”

“I think it’s lovely, dear. And I’m sure she’d approve of Whitestone now. The de Rolos are going to be the most influential family in all Tal’Dorei, weren’t you listening?” Vex stopped walking and reached out to touch one of the blooms. She ran her fingers over it, then pulled her arm away from his to draw a knife from her belt. Carefully, she cut it from the plant and stripped away the thorns. She held it up to her nose for a moment, breathing in deep. Then, gently, Vex fixed it to the lapel of his coat with a pin she pulled from her pocket.

He caught her hand and held it there, over the rose, over his heart. “Vex, about what you said in there...”

Her grin was wide and she let her eyelashes flutter. “I did promise you a romantic proposal, so you need to be patient while I plan.”

Percy tried to grin back at her, but his lips caught half-way. Before he could think of a joke, another light-hearted flirtation, he started speaking. The jumble of thoughts he’d been trying to sort came tumbling out instead. “I don’t... I don’t want to marry you if it’s not what you actually want. I know I said I’d do whatever is best for Whitestone, but not if it means trapping you. There’s all these responsibilities to the city. I mean, we’d be expected to continue the bloodline...”

“Oh darling, do you really think I would offer to marry you if I didn’t like the idea? ” She kept her hand on his chest and stepped in closer, so she had to tilt her head back to look into his eyes. Her voice wavered as she continued. “Percy... I thought... we’ve always danced around it, this thing between us. But I thought, I was sure, that you...felt something for me.”

“I do, sweet Pelor I do.” He leaned his head down, pressing his forehead to hers. He closed his eyes as he murmured, “And I don’t think I could bear being an obligation to you.”

He felt her move, but before he opened his eyes again, Percy felt Vex’s lips on his. They were soft, gentle like all the other little kisses she’d given him during their travels. But she lingered there, soft and warm and hesitant. He held her hand tighter to his chest and put his other hand to her waist to pull her close against him as he kissed her back. Her free hand skimmed up his shoulder, his neck, then she tangled her fingers into his hair and held him in place.

When they finally broke apart to breathe, Vex took a step back. She straightened his coat where her fingers had rumpled the fabric, then let her hand linger over his heart again. “I promise you, Percy, this is not out of obligation. I think we could be very good together. I think we could be very happy together.”

Percy smiled, then leaned down to press a gentle kiss against her cheek. “Then yes, Vex. I will marry you.”

“Not yet, darling.” Vex looped her arm through his again and started leading him through the garden again, to where they could smell the lunch that had been brought out for them. “Like I said, I need to plan something very romantic.”

“I don’t know if I can handle anything more romantic than that.” Percy replied, following in step with her. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, and all he wanted to do was kiss her again. As light-headed as he was, however, he trusted her guide him. 

Vex’s laugh tinkled through the garden, “Will you swoon?”

“I may just swoon. It’ll be terribly undignified.”

“I’ll have to be careful then, because if you swoon I’ll feel obligated to tell Scanlan.”

“Please don’t. I’ll never hear the end of it.” He pulled out her chair for her when they reached the table with their meal, the servants having vanished. Part of him wondered if they had been able to see him and Vex kiss. It was a small part however, one that was drowned out by the part that wanted to kiss her again. He sat across from her at the small table and they began to eat. Maybe it was the fresh air or the fact that he still felt giddy, but the food tasted better than it had since Laina had returned to Greyskull Keep with the others.

Vex took a sip of the sweet wine that had been poured for them. “Are there any Whitestone marriage traditions I should know about? Or human ones for that matter; I’m far from being an expert in weddings.”

“I actually don’t know.” He thought for another minute, then shrugged slightly. “None of my siblings were married. My parents had only just arranged a match for Julius when the Briarwoods came. We can ask Keeper Yennin or Archie about that. It’s probably traditionally at the Temple of Pelor. Or at the Sun Tree, possibly.”

“The Sun Tree would be nice. Keyleth would certainly approve of that.” She took another sip of wine, then was quiet for a long minute. “Once I’ve proposed properly, we’ll need to write to everyone and invite them all for a dinner so we can announce it. If Vax were to find out through a letter, he’d be furious with me.”

Percy nodded, then took a sip of his own drink. “Will he be happy for us?”

“Of course. He’ll probably be a dick about it, but he won’t mean it.” Vex reached across the table and took his hand. “They’ll all be happy for us.”

“Yes, I think they will.” Percy squeezed her hand, then picked up his wine glass and held it aloft. “To our future engagement.”

She laughed and mirrored his action. “To us. And our future.”

They clinked their glasses together.


	3. Chapter 3

After their meal, Vex headed off with Trinket to drill the guards in their archery. It had become one of her routines after the fall of the Conclave, as the city guard had swelled with new recruits. All the newcomers were young. They had been paralyzed with fear the day Vorugal had passed overhead, and Vex had agreed they needed to know how to protect themselves.

Percy walked with her to the gate of the castle and gave her another kiss on the cheek before he went back inside. It wasn’t hard to track down Archibald again. The old man was in the study, a thick tome open in front of him. He leaned over the book, squinting down at the words through his spectacles.

“Pardon me, Archie. I believe you wanted to speak to me before.” Percy said from the doorway, and smiled in apology when the advisor jumped at his voice. “I’m sorry for startling you. Interesting reading, I take it?”

“Yes indeed, Lord Percival. I have located one of Father Rynall’s books that your parents kept in the library. It has the sermon he used at their wedding.” Archie turned the book around on the desk and pointed to a passage.

Percy approached and leaned over. Close up like this, he could see that the book was in fact a ledger, hand written in the perfect script he had seen many times in his childhood. “This is wonderful, Archie. I didn’t think any personal effects like these had survived the Briarwoods. May I borrow it?”

“Of course. You know they had destroyed the family tapestry in the library, but there is one in here as well, collected by the clerics of Pelor over years. They probably overlooked it because it wasn’t with the other family documents. Your mother had it in that glass bookcase with her favorite books instead.”

“Our family history, in with her fantasies and romances. It sounds about right.” He turned the page, remembering sitting on a couch beside his mother. Once he’d been able to read for himself, she’d ask him to read aloud to her. Often they had been books on the fey, or great adventurers from days long past. “Thank you for this.”

“It should be in your hands. You will be carrying on the de Rolo name, after all.” Archie closed the book and pushed it towards him. “And we should discuss the details of your upcoming nuptials. We should probably send out announcements soon, to head off any other potential offers during the Congress...”

They spoke for a long time, about what the ceremony would be and all the people who would have to be invited to avoid slights. Percy took it all in, nodding, and insisted that they would have to cover it all again when Vex was there as well.

He spent some time that afternoon reading through Father Rynall’s book, including the sermon from his parents’ wedding. It was a lovely speech, if somewhat formal. He marked it with a scrap of paper to show Vex later. It was probably the most traditional thing they could go with, after all.

Percy didn’t see Vex again until that evening, when she came and found him down in his workshop. She had changed out of her armor and was rebraiding her hair. “What are you working on, darling? Something explosive, I hope?”

“No, dear. I’m practicing my jewelry skills.” Percy gestured to the forms he had made, where molten silver was currently cooling. “I like the idea of making our wedding bands instead of purchasing them.”

“Oh Percy, that sounds lovely! Can I help?” She perched on the bench beside him and took in what he had done so far.

He smiled and showed her what he’d created. Usually she left him alone when tinkering, but he had always enjoyed when she came to aid him. “These are just practice, so I have some low-quality garnets and silver here. I’m thinking platinum for the real ones, and diamonds.”

Her eyes lit up when he said platinum, and she leaned her shoulder into his. “You do know what I like.”

With her help, in a few hours they had two serviceable, if not perfect, rings. The garnets sparkled in the soft light--an enchanted light instead of a lantern, Percy avoided having loose flame in the workshop if possible--and they had polished the silver to a high shine. “I should tell you; Archie found somewhat of a family heirloom in the library. It was a book kept by the priests of Pelor about the de Rolo family, and it had the sermon Father Rynall said at my parents’ wedding. If we wanted to do something traditional, we could use it during ours.”

Vex curled her hand into his, twining their fingers together. “That does sound nice. What was it about?”

“Rings, actually. It’s what inspired me to start making these.” He held one up--the slightly smaller, more delicate one--letting it catch the light again. “About how love is like a ring. It has no beginning, and no end. It keeps going around.”

She held up the other, inspecting it and smiling. She tilted her head slightly, and thought for a long minute before she said, “That is very sweet. But that isn’t quite true, is it?”

“Oh?”

 

“Rings _do_ have a beginning. We made these, today. And it was through luck that this bit of silver and these particular stones were turned into rings, but the rest of it was work. We formed them, shaped them. We set the stones and polished them.” Vex held the ring out to him, and looked into his eyes. “We’ve made something together, and we will have to maintain it together. Through a little bit of luck, but mostly through working on it.”

“So, Percy, do you want to make a life with me, to mold and shape and polish it together?”

Percy’s mouth fell open slightly, but the words caught in his throat. Instead, he held up his left hand and let Vex slide the ring onto his finger. He admired it for a moment, then leaned in and kissed her.

When he pulled back, just a fraction of an inch so he could breathe, he murmured, “Yes, Vex. Yes, I will marry you.”

He felt her smile again, and she held both his hands and squeezed them tightly. “How’s that for romantic, darling?”

“I can’t imagine anything finer.” And he kissed her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...that thing with the rings having a beginning? Yeah, I stole it from my brother, who said it during the vows when he officiated my wedding. Thanks Den, for the sweetest thing I've ever heard and will be using forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Because I think we needed a little sweetness and fluff right about now.


End file.
